Avadrabbles
by Port-of-Seas
Summary: My own series of Avatar drabbles started for a friend's bday. Mostly Zutara.
1. She

A/N: This is the first in a series of perfect Zutara drabbles. Forgive the repetitive style.

o-o-o

She

She saw an enemy; she felt fear

She saw a prince; she felt weakness

She saw nothing for a time; she felt unease

She saw an outcast; she felt fury

She saw nothing again; she let herself feel safe

She saw a boy crying for his uncle; she felt sympathy

She saw a void he should have filled; she felt loneliness

She saw a fellow teacher; she felt familiarity

She saw a blue spirit; curiosity

She saw a wounded soldier; she felt compassion

She saw so much more; she felt love

She saw an emperor, and she felt it all.

o-o-o

R&R


	2. He

A/N: The second in a series of observation/feeling Zutara poems.

o-o-o

He

He saw a foreigner; he felt nothing

He saw a nuisance; he felt frustration

He saw a strong girl; he felt intrigue

He saw an enemy; he felt fury

He saw nothing at all; he felt anxiety

He saw a woman; he felt surprise

He saw a warrior; he felt impression

He saw nothing again; he felt longing

He saw a healer; he felt shame

He saw an equal; he felt something unfamiliar

He saw an angel; he felt hope

He saw something else that hadn't been there before; he felt love

He saw his empress, and he felt sadness.

o-o-o

R&R


	3. They

A/N: The third in this series of repetitive poems about the chain of events I think could bring them together, and the aftermath. Not all stories have happy endings.

o-o-o

They

They saw strangers with strange gifts and they felt uncertainty

They saw opposite enemies and they felt anger

They saw people beneath war-hardened shells and felt doubt

They saw warriors, equal in strength in passion, and they felt fierce challenge

They saw flaws and perfections, weaknesses and strengths, and they felt relief

They saw comrades fighting for a forbidden peace, and they felt closer

They saw companions that had not been there before, and they felt comfort

They saw wounded heroes after the battle, and they felt love

They saw each other, and they felt the weight of the world.

o-o-o

R&R


	4. Dress Up

A/N: Zuko can't help but notice that pretty ambassador.

o-o-o

Dress up

Katara looked fantastic when she bothered to really dress up. Not that she was a tomboy by any means, but during their travels, she had never really gotten the chance. Not that she hadn't been pretty then. He remembered their fight at the south pole, at a time when he couldn't let himself appreciate her beauty. And later, when they were sparring by the river after he had become Aang's firebending teacher. Now, here at his coronation, she clean and proper, her hair done up in complicated twists and loops, a thin water tribe robe separating her tan skin from the hot air of his nation. She was representing the South pole, after all. She had to look nice. But even still…

When he caught her eyes from across the courtyard, he couldn't shake the feeling that she had dressed up just for him.

o-o-o

R&R


	5. Undeniable

A/N: Ah, the ever controversial issue of...

o-o-o

Undeniable

It sat still, too short to be easily swayed by the movement of its master. But when the wind blew, it shuddered in rustling waves like a breeze through a grassy field. So different from the flicking horse tail it had once resembled. Uneven and sloppily grown, perhaps, but there was something almost charming about the way it no longer followed any form of convention; the way it rebelled so completely against its master's commands. Like a wild thing that could not be tamed, but was better off left alone. Yes, it was terribly undeniable.

Zuko looked great with hair.

o-o-o

R&R Kudasai


	6. Ginseng

A/N: Based off a comic I read on deviantart. My interpretation.

o-o-o

Ginseng

"Uncle, why do you always have us drinking ginseng tea when we're with you? You never make the others drink it?"

Uncle glanced over his cup at Zuko and Katara, a smile twitching at the corners of his mouth.

"You don't like my tea?" he asked pathetically, playing on the sympathy tile. Katara was quick to answer.

"No, no, it's not like that. It's just that Sokka and Aang and Toph you allow to drink other sorts and us… well, you always make sure Zuko and I drink the same tea as you do. Why?"

Iroh knew his own reasons for loving ginseng. It had a rich flavor, and invigorating, stimulating qualities that helped to keep him on his feet in his old age. He would never tell them that the reason he insisted they drink it was based upon a myth he had once heard that ginseng heightened energy, fertility, and even, on some levels, willingness to reproduce. He would never tell them that he always got excited when the two of them spent time together.

And he would never, ever tell them how much he wanted great nephews and nieces.

"Ginseng is healthy," he half lied. "The two of you are very dear to my heart. I want to see both of you strong for many years to come."

o-o-o

R&R


	7. Offers

A/N: Just a dialogue that flowed onto paper one day...

o-o-o

Offers 

"Why won't you marry me, Katara?"

"Zuko, it's only been one day. Give me some time."

"How long do you need?"

"Here's a question. Why don't you marry me?"

"What?"

"Instead of me coming to the fire nation, you come to the water tribe."

"Katara, it doesn't work that way."

"Which is why I can't marry you."

"But I can offer you so much."

"I'm listening."

"You could have money, power, security, comfort…"

"Tempting, but I don't want what the fire nation can offer me."

"What, then?"

"What can you offer me?"

"Me?"

"Yes."

"…Love."

"Well, Zuko, in that case…"

o-o-o

R&R, Kudasai


	8. Pai Sho

A/N: I always thought that Iroh was the sort who just sort of knew what was going on, and since Pai Sho is a strategy game, I could see him using a board much like a model for planning battles.

Pai Sho

Iroh slid the lotus tile across the board, glancing up at his nonexistent opponent. It didn't matter, of course, that he was playing by himself. This was more of a philosophical game than anything else.

The wind, water drop, and candle tiles had all started on separate edges of the board. But one by one, they were inching nearer.

Strategically, he broke off one of the water drop tiles and inched it nearer to the two candle tiles. Then, a candle tile broke off.

When he had the two tiles next to each other, a loud crash in the other inn room interrupted his concentration.

"GET AWAY FROM HER YOU FIRE NATION SCUM!"

"Sokka, this is none of your business."

"Back off, peasant!"

"Sokka, calm down, he wasn't doing anything, I swear!"

"GET YOUR LIPS OFF HER FACE!"

"What are you-"

"You wanna fight, Sokka? Fine, be my guest!"

"Not you two! Ugh, boys are so… so… STUPID!"

"Katara-"

"Wait, Katara!"

There was another crash and the sound of swiftly freezing ice. Iroh smiled to himself. There were some real-life moments that a game simply could never hope to convey.

o-o-o

R&R, kudasai


	9. Pretty

A/N: This is a fic based on a single Kaylee quote in the episode "Heart of Gold" from the series Firefly. I couldn't help but think that, if they grew comfortable enough, it was just the thing Katara would say to Zuko. And, being a peasant, she's got to feel awkward among the royalty, right?

o-o-o

Pretty 

Katara sighed, leaning against one of the many stone columns, positively pouting as the dancers whirled about. Another day, another party. As much as she loved being an ambassador from the South Pole. It meant seeing Aang, who had taken to traveling with Toph and Appa, and Zuko, the new fire lord. It meant, in short, vacation time in the Fire nation.

But what she hated was how every visit meant a party, and every party meant prettier-than-her fire nation girls swirling around the dance floor. It was annoying.

"Are you enjoying yourself?"

She glanced up at Zuko, prim and groomed as he always had to be in the public eye, and positively pouted. At least _she_ knew how grimy and scruffy he really looked outside of the well-to-do flatteries. But she could ignore it when he dressed up. Why couldn't she ignore it when she, herself dressed up?

"Zuko," she sighed. "Tell me I'm pretty."

Zuko sputtered, choking on the cup of wine he had been sipping on. Katara waited patiently for his coughing to settle and he faced her with the most incredulous expression she had seen for some time.

"Katara," he groaned, awkward in light of her request. Then his voice changed as he attempted to be smooth. "You dazzle every woman in this room, and were I not the Fire Lord at a formal function, I would take you in a manly fashion and have you for my own."

Oh yeah. He was taking eloquence lessons from Uncle.

"Cause I'm pretty?" she asked.

"Cause you're pretty."

She glanced out and saw a particularly bouncy young woman in flowing layers of pink and scarlet.

"She's awfully cute," the waterbender said offhandedly.

"Kayiya? She's the worst excuse for a bender I ever saw. All she ever does is worry about how she looks. Trust me. She's pretty until she starts talking."

Katara paused, pursing her lips.

"Zuko, tell me I'm cute."

o-o-o

R&R


	10. The Dance

A/N: Just a cute little fic. I've always imagined Katara and Zuko to be a couple in constant motion. Even their character development moves gracefully in the same direction. This is just a humorous manifestation of that.

The Dance

Oh yeah. He was wrapped. And not just up in the loose-flowing sleeves of her dress, that tangled around his waist as they swirled around the dance floor, a blue-red wave of motion. No, he was wrapped around everything and anything she wanted.

And worst, he didn't mind.

"How many silly dances are you going to make me come to," she sighed, stepping gracefully into a spin. Zuko pulled her close to his chest, his hand slipping into her lower back as the warmth from their bodies melted together.

"Until you agree to be Fire Lady and make me stop."

He smirked down at her, and she pursed her lips.

She thought he was kidding.

She assumed too much.

"If you want me to be fire lady so much," she teased back. "Then prove it."

"How?"

The waltz grew more heated as they dodged other, equally vibrant couples.

"If you're going to court me, it has to be something special. After all, who ever heard of a waterbending fire queen?"

"You'd be the first."

He couldn't look away from those wide, blue eyes. He needed something to really knock her off her feet. Something that she wouldn't-no one would- expect.

"You're just too bashful, Zuko," she teased gently. "You're socially awkward, it keeps you from doing anything-"

In one fluid movement, Zuko swung her down, brought her head up to his, and kissed her hard in the middle of the dance floor, with everyone there to see. He didn't pull away for air. He didn't want to. But eventually, he knew she would, when she could no longer stand the burning growing in their lungs and cheeks.

Only one thought could echo in his mind at the appalled gasps lighting around the ballroom.

How unexpected.

o-o-o

R&R, please.


	11. Truth Bites

A/N: And one must wonder how Sokka feels about this.

o-o-o

Truth bites

Sokka scowled from his place around the campfire, utterly sickened as his sister positively flirted with the prince of the fire nation.

THE PRINCE OF THE FIRE NATION!

But nobody else seemed surprised. Sure, Aang was a little depressed (who ever knew that the little guy had actually had a crush on Katara?) but Toph didn't seem to care and Iroh-curse the other firebender-was actually happy! As though he had planned the whole thing! Sniveling little… well, one couldn't really call Iroh little.

"Oh, stop sulking," Toph griped. "Just because it took you forever to figure it out doesn't mean we have to suffer for it."

"Hey!" he snapped. "I'm sorry if I trusted my sister enough not to make out with the fire prince while she was 'just getting water'!"

"You can't honestly say you never saw anything," the earthbender remarked. "I mean, I'm blind and I saw it coming."

"Yeah, well you can sense things."

"Through the earth, genius."

Sokka pouted and glanced across the fire at them again. Zuko was smiling-Smiling! Him!- and whispering into Katara's ear. Sokka inched farther out on his log, trying to catch what the bender was saying. Zuko's lip inched closer and closer to her lobe, then… he barely brushed his teeth against the skin.

"THAT'S IT!" Sokka cried, jumping up. "YOU TWO! THREE FEET! AT ALL TIMES!"

Zuko and Katara jumped, throwing identical glares at him. Oh no. Katara was turning into Zuko.

Sokka hated to wonder whether his sleeping bag would freeze or burn tonight.

o-o-o

R&R, please.


	12. Stories

A/N: Gotta wonder what they'll tell their kids.

o-o-o

Stories 

"Father, how did you and mom meet?"

Zuko smiled at his daughter's request, easily summoning the story he had told their firstborn when he had asked that question.

"It was a beautiful, clear day. I'd gone to the north pole to search for the Avatar, and when I landed on the shore to ask the Water tribe what they knew, I saw her at the front of the crowd, smiling. I wasn't very happy about the cold, but she made everything warm all over. I stayed the night, and she sat next to me during a glorious feast. We laughed and joked and got along, and when it came time for me to leave, I didn't want to say goodbye. But I had to, with the promise we would meet again."

His daughter's golden eyes twinkled.

"And did you?"

"Of course, honey. How else do you think you were born?"

"ZUKO!"

Zuko flinched as Katara stormed into the room, her fire-nation robes swirling behind her in a storm of fury.

"You aren't telling our daughter that stupid made-up story, are you?"

Zuko could feel his ire rising, and he instantly forgot anything in the room but Katara.

"Well, we don't need to scar her for life, now do we?"

"She's better off knowing the truth."

"Oh? Then you tell her you were a spineless peasant and your brother was a raving idiot while-"

The young fire princess sat on her bed, staring wide eyed. Somehow, bedtime stories had never been a peaceful thing in their house.

o-o-o

R&R, kudasai.


	13. Your Turn

A/N: There's a certain quote in here taken directly from Joss Whedon's Firefly. Kudos to whoever can find it.

o-o-o

Your Turn

Zuke rolled over in bed, wrapping one arm around his wife's bard abdomen, snuggling closer in the dark of the night. For someone who had grown up in the south pole, she was so warm… and comfortable… it was like being a little child again, hugging a favorite toy. He wouldn't have let go for the world…

A raucous squall broke through the air, starting the Fire Lord from his bliss. Maybe if he stayed very, very quiet, maybe his son Koda would go back to sleep…

Katara mumbled, half awake.

"Your turn."

Zuko groaned and buried his face in the nape of her neck.

"Why me?" he whined. "I'm… I'm not dressed."

"Neither am I," she retorted. "But I saw to him last. Now go see to our son."

"Katara…"

"You remember that amazing sex we were going to have? Ever. Again."

Zuko groaned and rolled out of the bed, quickly throwing on a pair of pants and hurrying to the nursery, shivering against the chill of the halls compared to the warmth of his bed. He inched up toward the crib, stuffed with every Fire Nation and Water Tribe toy they could get their hands on, and the small form in the middle of all of it, screaming.

Hesitantly, he picked up the child, smiling at the comfortable weight of his son in his arms. Koda immediately quieted, still fidgeting despite his father's nearness. Zuko bounced the child in his arms and, though he would never let anyone outside his family hear him doing it, he began singing an old water tribe song Katara had taught him.

_Hush now, baby dry your tears_

_I'm right here, you're right here_

_Calm your heart and still your tears_

_You know that I am near_

_Circle round and round and round_

_Babe to father, son then found_

_I was once so little too_

_But someday you'll be through_

o-o-o

R&R


	14. Father

A/N: Katara's musings on Zuko's fatherhood.

o-o-o

Father 

Zuko's father had been more concerned with his own ambition than being close to his children. Prizing Azula for her genius, but not her self. Quick to disregard the worthless. A hot-blooded, angry sort of man.

Katara's father had been bold and adventurous, hearty, good with stories. He built them up with kind words, and made sure that foundation would never fall. A warm, caring, laughing man. The sort you just loved.

Watching Zuko tuck their children into bed, Katara smiled. He had the awkwardness of a childhood with one father, but there was no doubt which man he most resembled.

o-o-o

R&R, kudasai


	15. Mother

A/N: A musing on Zuko's behalf concerning his and Katara's mothers and their presence in her as she raises their children.

o-o-o

Mother 

Zuko's mother had been gentle and warm, a candle in the face of Ozai's flaming torch. She was practical, despite her nobility, and always quick with the right advice. The sort of woman who cleaned cute and kissed bruises.

Katara's mother had been stern but exciting, eager to try new things and introduce her children to the world around them. So proud to instill in them a love of their culture. The woman to instigate revolution as soon as tell a bedtime story.

Zuko watched Katara from across the courtyard, playing with their children, and he couldn't help but think that his wife had the best of both.

o-o-o

R&R, please


	16. Oma Shu

A/N: For anyone who reads these, yes, I did see the season two finale. But I shall not abandon hope for my ship, and not just because I spent all this time writing all these drabbles.

Oma. Shu.

Zuko brushed his finger against her cheekbone, his hand shaking with restraint. This wasn't enough. He wanted to hold her close, squeeze her tight, and never, ever have to let go again. Each time he looked at her, a dying sensation dropped through his chest into his stomach. He always felt the nagging ache of death, always the fear that this wretched war would tear them apart.

And for that he could never let her go.

Shu! Oh no, please, Shu! Don't leave me! 

Katara closed her eyes and leaned into his palm, placing her palm over it. She hoped he would never leave her, never stop this moment. She needed to feel him touch her, needed to know it wasn't all some dream. Needed to know she was alive enough to be here with him, now. Each time she had to fight, she feared death more than ever, because it meant they might be separated. She hated to lose him, but she equally didn't want him to lose her.

And for that, she always needed to feel him near.

Oma, please. We'll be together in the next life. I… promise… 

The spirits looked down from their world, amused. Only the Avatar was supposed to communicate with his former incarnations. Only he could do it. But, as it seemed, he was not the only one who could still remember traces of those past lives.


	17. The Cave

A/N: Yes. Every drabble series needs one of these.

The Cave

Zuko swore under his breath as the last vestiges of the torch flickered and died, casting them in complete darkness.

"Katara?" he called instantly. No response. His heart skipped a beat. Oh no. Aang and Sokka, Toph and Uncle… they had all already disappeared in this vile cave. He couldn't bear to lose her, too.

"I'm right here, Zuko," she replied calmly. "But don't light up; there are flammable gases in this chamber."

"How do you know that?"

Katara scoffed and rolled her eyes, grateful for the dark that hid the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. He was amusing when he was uncertain.

"I can sense the water in this room," she explained. "Everything has water. In this case, I can feel the vapors from the gas. They're too heavy to be just water vapor. It only makes sense that it's flammable, and the spark from you lighting something would cause a lot more problems than a pre-lit torch."

"Than how do we get out."

Now Katara thanked every spirit who would listen for the dark that hid the flush creeping up her face. She could sense Zuko's nearness, not just from the flow of water in his body, but from the steadily growing desire to be near him. She swallowed uncomfortably.

"I-I know how to get some light, at least," she mumbled awkwardly.

"How?"

"Well, it's the cave of two lovers. And 'love' will get us through to the end…"

Zuko froze, eyes widening in the dark. Could she be suggesting… impossible. He was just filling in the blanks with useless answers that he wanted to hear.

"How did you three get out before?"

"Well, um, Aang and I kinda had to kiss, and then all these crystals lit up and we got out."

Katara trembled with nervousness at the prince's silence. This wasn't like it had been with her and Aang before, where the situation had been angry, swiftly dissolving into the need for the kiss. This was different. There had always been an awkwardness between the water and firebender, a tension she couldn't quite understand.

Being trapped here, alone with him, almost suggested that the spirits wanted to crack the dam holding back all the anxiety that had grown between them.

"Well," Zuko said carefully at a length. "Let's do it."

Katara started, her faint gasp echoing through the cave. Zuko took a deep breath, willing his hands to stop shaking. Footsteps sounded as she drew nearer, not wanting to argue with him, lest they lose their nerve.

Zuko dropped the remains of their torch and blindly let his hands fall on her shoulders, squeezing slightly to assure himself she was there.

Katara inched up onto her tiptoes, closing her already unseeing eyes. Zuko leaned down, his heart fluttering like a baby bird while Katara's stomach flipped more deftly than an acrobat.

Their lips brushed against one another, surprising warmth coursing through in the face of the dank coolness of the caves.

One by one, the crystals in the cave began to glow with a strange, iridescent light. Zuko and Katara didn't break their kiss. Instead, it grew more passionate as the seconds ticked by. Katara wound her fingers through his short hair, Zuko let his hands travel down to her waist.

The light grew brighter and brighter, lighting the cave like blue-green sunlight. Zuko and Katara sank to their knees, falling to the floor, their lips inseparable.


	18. The Rants of a Fire Princess

The Rants of a Fire Princess

Damn waterbending peasant. It was all Azula could do not to strangle her each time the two of them positively cuddled, which had to be every moment they were together. Curled up on the bench in the garden, on the bridge over the river, under the sakura trees in the orchard, out shopping, during meals, his room, her room, even her room! Disgusting, that was it.

He was a bloody firebender, and a prince at that! Hadn't he the shame to keep his distance from this _waterbending peasant!?_

Azula growled under her breath, watching the audacity of them picnicking out by the bamboo forest. The lighthearted chuckle that escaped from his throat as she pulled his now short pony-tail; it just… it just wasn't Zuko! She had always associated Zuko with rash words, angry snarls, wide, terror-filled eyes he had fought to hide since Ozai's ascension as Fire Lord. Not this chuckling, smiling, pushover who wouldn't fight back should some water-tribe wench decide to splash him with her bending. He had never been fine with _Azula _practicing _her_ bending on him.

Hag.

Peasant.

Floozy.

Curse her for making him so cheerful. Curse her for barging in and claiming the title of "Fire Lady" as her own. And above all…

Curse her for being oblivious of her influence.


End file.
